The Kazekage's Librarian
by Little Gem Magnolia
Summary: He liked her, he liked her a lot and the more he got to know her, the more he liked her. Gaara/OC, not much romance, more of a reflection piece. Please review.


_The Kazekage's Librarian_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do __**NOT**__ own Naruto or the characters in this fic. (The librarian is mine, though.) _

_**Summary: **__He liked her, he liked her a lot and the more he got to know her, the more he liked her. Gaara/OC, not much romance, more of a reflection piece. Please review. _

_**A/N: **__Okay, this is my very first Naruto fic so I apologize if Gaara is a little OOC. I'm trying though so I would appreciate reviews whether they are positive or negative, though I do discourage flames. Like the summary says, this really isn't about the romance but more about how love, or serious like, is changing Gaara and how he feels about it. If anyone spots any overlooked spelling or grammatical errors, I'd really appreciate a heads up, my editing system is a tad bit wonky. Umm, I think that's about it, read and enjoy. _

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_The Kazekage's Librarian_

Gaara sighed as his eyes scanned the room; this party was turning into a circus. He kept his mouth shut, though for today was his nephew's first birthday and he refused to ruin Temari's careful planning and Kankuro's obvious pride with his complaining. Despite the personal tragedy that marked the occasion it was a happy day and the current Kazekage couldn't help the smile that crept over his face at the sight of his nephew surrounded by his siblings, team Kakashi and _her_.

He didn't really know what was so special about her but whatever it was, it was strong and drew him to her like a magnet; it was nothing like Gaara had ever felt before. She had been a close friend of Temari's for years, despite the large gap in their ages, but Gaara had never really taken notice of her until she took her mother's place as the librarian of the Kazekage's house. She had a silent presence that could easily be overlooked but she made his home warmer and a little brighter somehow and he could still remember the first day he'd noticed her.

He had gone to the library looking for a book that had seemed important at the time but now, was so insignificant he couldn't even remember what it was about, and that was when he had seen her. The first thing that caught his attention had been her hair - the color of sand and longer than he'd ever seen on a woman - but her eyes were what held his attention. They were a light grey and stood out against her deeply sun-kissed skin.

She'd quietly directed him to what he was looking for, her voice silky and smooth, and while she wasn't necessarily the most attractive woman he'd ever seen, the reverence with which she addressed him made her beautiful to him. Her reverence was different from that of all the other females that surrounded him because it wasn't a fan-girl admiration she held for her Kazekage and her respect didn't stem from a deep affection for his looks, it stemmed from his leadership abilities and how he treated the people around him.

He'd thought about her as he'd leafed through the book, stealing glances at her out of the corner of his eye and he'd have been lying if he tried to claim that her body didn't intrigue him; he'd never seen a woman like her.

She was the same height as his sister but she didn't have Temari's muscle mass and appeared slightly heavier because of her wider hips; it was obvious she was not a kunoichi, though she was far from out of shape. In fact if Gaara was completely honest, because of her lack of muscle, she looked a tad too thin in some areas compared to the women he knew personally but he attributed his opinion to spending so much time around shinobi for when he'd voiced his concerns to his sister, she'd laughed before assuring him that the librarians weight was not uncommon for someone of her height. Despite her initial size, she was very curvaceous but one never would have guessed it with how tightly she wore her breast bindings; for someone with such a visually pleasing body, she was the most modest woman he'd ever met.

It had taken all of his self restraint to keep his eyes on the book in front of him but he'd finally managed. To this day Gaara wasn't sure just how long he'd spent in the library - hunched over the book that, looking back, most likely detailed the political history of Suna - but when he'd finally decided to call it a night, he looked up to find that the pretty librarian was nowhere to be found. Wishing to thank her for her help, he'd decided to wait around in hopes that she would return so that he could properly express his gratitude and he hadn't waited long. Not even a minute passed from the time he stood from his seat and stretched did she reenter the library, like she had been waiting nearby for him to finish.

Gaara remembered mentally turning words over in his mind before asking her where she'd run off to and watching as she looked down at her hands. He'd marveled that her voice was still just as silky and smooth as it had been earlier in the afternoon while she cautiously reminded him of their social standing, carefully explaining that it wouldn't look good for them to have spent so much time alone in the library without a chaperone. He still recalled the shock he'd felt at, not only her observation, but at the seriousness with which she delivered her concerns.

He _never_ thought about things like that and it astounded him that she did and what's more, worried over it.

Gaara couldn't help but laugh a little as he thought on the many conversations they'd had since then that ran along those very same lines and it still shocked him that she worried over his reputation, something he could honestly admit still never crossed his mind.

A loud bought of laughter ripped Gaara from his thoughts and he turned his attention back to his nephew, still surrounded by Suna's closest friends and allies, who were laughing at Naruto's wild antics. Another smile graced the young Kazekage's face as he watched Kankuro's red-haired son laugh and coo as he was passed from Sakura to the librarian who had just occupied his thoughts. Just seeing the object of his tentative affections bounce the young child - who he had to admit bore a striking resemblance to himself - on her knee brought forth many images that, truth be told, shocked Gaara to his core and even frightened him.

The sand villages' leader had never once entertained the thought of having a family - just thinking of his own childhood made him cringe and though he would do anything in his power to keep his own blood from living through the pain he'd experienced, spawning a child was still not something he found himself wanting to think about. His conscious reservations didn't stop his subconscious mind from going crazy with images of children with grey eyes and hair the color of his own, though and Gaara found that he had to literally force himself to think about other things to keep his mind on safer matters.

As if sensing his thoughts, grey eyes met his before their owner turned away, looking off at something that made her blush and turn her attention back to the child on her lap. Searching the crowd surrounding her, Gaara found the source of her sudden embarrassment and sent a meaningful glare in his sister's direction. Temari knew better than to poke fun at the librarian for the last time she'd done so, it had taken Gaara a week to persuade her to talk to him again and even longer than that before she was comfortable being in the same room with him for more than five minutes.

That was another thing that amazed him about her, she was so timid when in his presence but he knew for a fact that she was strong and just as defiant as his sister on matters important to her. She never stood up to him, though and he couldn't for the life of him understand why; he'd never been unkind to her, nor had he ever punished her and he'd never even entertained the thought of raising a hand to harm her despite his sometimes violent tendencies. During their conversations together she seemed so at ease with him, never once showing nervousness or fear so he guessed her more demure demeanor was a result of his standing.

No matter how many times they conversed or how at ease she seemed with him, she was always wary of their difference in social rank. She chose her words wisely, never interrupted him, often excused herself if they were alone for an extended period of time and never dropped that infernal title with which she always addressed him.

When he was around her, his status as Kazekage was dually a curse and a blessing. There were times when she addressed him that he just wanted to take her by the shoulders and shake her, demand that she call him by his name but then there were other times when she'd slip up and utter "Lord Gaara" instead of the usual "Lord Kazekage" in a tone that sent waves of pleasure straight to his groin and then he wanted to take her by the shoulders for a completely different reason. The outcomes of both situations, he'd decided, would have disastrous effects on the already fragile foundation of their friendship and despite what his sister claimed, Gaara had already convinced himself that friends was most likely as far as she'd allow their relationship to go and he was slowly but surely coming to terms with that - not that he was _overly_ anxious to venture into a romantic relationship in any case.

Gaara had dealt with a lot in his time as Kazekage but there was one thing he was still uncomfortable dealing with and that was his emotions. He'd schooled himself to keep them bottled up for so long that now, when he could finally express himself, he found it difficult and had finally decided to stop trying. When he became of age, Kankuro had warned him that women were not fond of that sort of thing - being emotionally distant and all - and so Gaara counted himself lucky that he hadn't yet come across a woman he wanted to be eternally tied to but the more he was around that pretty little librarian, the more he found himself wanting to change, be more open in hopes that it would make her want to pursue something with him.

Even though he wasn't ready he would have to get married soon, the elders were already demanding it and in truth, Gaara could see where their panic was coming from. He was twenty one, well past the age when noble men married but the women brought forth by the elders were of no interest to him; he had his sights set on one woman and one woman only and once his mind was made up, it was not swayed.

"Being deep in thought all the time can't be good for you."

The tone was light and joking but when Gaara looked up at the person who spoke, he found that the owner of the voice looked quite serious.

"Sister," he acknowledged, nodding his head in her direction before turning back to the group crowded around the birthday boy.

Loud and slightly off-key singing could be heard and Gaara shook his head in embarrassment as he noticed some of the villagers staring at them; he really needed new friends.

"You know for someone who's supposedly disciplined, you're not being very discreet. Keep staring at her like that and you're going to either burn a hole through her or attract the attention of the elders."

Gaara simply crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her.

"Now I'm not sure about the former but the latter will definitely be troublesome for you."

"Is there any particular reason you're not indulging in song with the rest of the guests, Temari?" He questioned snidely, he hated it when she picked on him but after much reading he realized that this was just the way of siblings and begrudgingly allowed her her fun.

"Take part in that?" She asked, an incredulous look on her face as she jutted her thumb in the direction of their friends. "Oh that's embarrassing; I have no idea who they are..."

Gaara stared at her for a moment before laughing to himself; they really were quite similar underneath it all.

Temari cleared her throat, watching as amusement passed behind her youngest brothers' eyes. "So when are you going to tell her?"

"Tell her what?"

Temari would have been lying if she'd tried to say she wasn't shocked that Gaara really looked as though he had no idea what she was talking about, maybe he was more disciplined than she'd given him credit for.

_That or he truly is clueless, _she thought before answering him.

"That you're completely in love with her and can't stop thinking about her."

Now there was the shock she'd been looking for,_ gotcha_.

"I'm not...that's absolutely...where do you come up with these quaint little notions of yours, Temari?"

"It's all about observation, _brother_. You see, no matter what you say, I know what you're feeling - at least on this particular subject - because you're acting the exact same way Kankuro did before he proposed to the child's mother. I'll even go so far as to say there are similarities between the way you're acting and the way Shikamaru acted just before-"

"Does this story have a point?" Gaara interrupted, quickly growing tired of her little _observations_ and the fact that she was currently comparing him to his incompetent brother-in-law.

Temari regarded him for a moment before shrugging. "Not really, just wanted you to know you're not as mysterious as you'd like to think." She laughed as she patted his shoulder and walked back to the party.

Gaara shook his head as he watched her go; he'd never claimed to be mysterious. Seriously where did she come up with this stuff?

As he went back to watching the festivities, Gaara couldn't help but think over his sisters words. What if he was in love with her and just didn't know it? But then again he _should_ know, shouldn't he? On the other hand, people do say love is blind...but he didn't think that was what the saying referred to...

Kankuro said it just hit him one day but what exactly did that mean? Had _she_ hit him or did he mean something else entirely? Shikamaru said he'd always known somewhere deep inside himself but it couldn't possibly be that way for everyone could it?

Gaara knew she was special to him but _love_? That was foreign territory, something he'd never really experienced before; hell he was just coming to terms with the fact that he loved his siblings. It was strange to care for someone besides himself and he was still getting used to the idea.

Grey eyes suddenly looked up again and caught his but this time the contact held, like she was trying to communicate with him through glances. His eyes quickly swept over her figure before he finally noticed that there was someone leaning towards her, whispering in her ear.

Gaara felt his eyes narrow as he realized that the figure was male and not a member of their party and looking back into her eyes, he finally picked up on what she was trying to tell him; she wanted his help. He didn't move for a moment, noticing that Kankuro had made it to her side to offer his assistance but the other male did not budge, if anything it seemed that his advances intensified.

No one messed with what belonged to him and that included her.

Pushing off from the wall he had been leaning against, Gaara made his way over to where his help had been requested. He may not know if he loved her but he definitely knew he liked her...a lot and at this rate, love couldn't be but so far behind, right?

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_Okay, this was my very first attempt at Naruto fandom, therefore it was my first attempt at writing Gaara so I hope it wasn't too terrible and that he wasn't too OOC. If you liked this, __**please**__ review, if not, I'd love to know why - just try to keep it constructive please. Thanks so much for reading and have a wonderful day. _

_-Midnight Larkin_


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